The government should revisit provisions governing the implementation of unprogrammed funds in the national budget to prevent schemes involving the misuse of finances for purposes outside their intended use, a human rights lawyer said.

Former congressman Neri Colmenares said a review of regulations was needed regarding the diversion of funds from government agencies such as the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) and the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation (PDIC).

Colmenares said measures must be enacted to prevent similar incidents in the future and ensure that services such as health care remain properly funded, while members continue receiving improved benefits over time.

“We should remove unprogrammed funds provisions that allow a repeat of this diversion. If we are serious about protecting PhilHealth members, there must be no more backdoor authority to pull PhilHealth money away from health care,” he said.

Last Wednesday, 6 May, P60 billion out of the P89.9 billion transferred to the Bureau of the Treasury in 2024 was returned to PhilHealth following a Supreme Court order and a directive from Ferdinand Marcos Jr..

The funds came from members’ contributions and were supposedly intended for unprogrammed appropriations.

In its annual report that same year, the Commission on Audit

said the funds taken from PhilHealth could have been used to expand benefit programs for vulnerable sectors, including senior citizens and persons with disabilities.

Colmenares also called for a public accounting of the entire P89.9 billion, as well as funds released under the Universal Health Care law in 2024 and 2025, particularly identifying who approved the releases and where the money was spent.

“Dapat wala nang unprogrammed funds para hindi na maulit ang nangyari. Dapat maglabas ng kumpletong accounting sa lahat ng ni-release sa unprogrammed appropriations noong 2024 at 2025,” Colmenares said.

(There should no longer be unprogrammed funds so the incident will not happen again. A complete accounting of all releases under the 2024 and 2025 unprogrammed appropriations should be made public.)

Aside from PhilHealth, Colmenares also urged the government to return the P107 billion diverted from the PDIC, which was likewise used to fund other government programs.